Editor's note: Reports are circulating that 1 of the blasts in Mombasa, Kenya, injured people at The Reef Hotel. The country's interior ministry has debunked those reports, clarifying that injuries were reported at another location off Nyali Beach. - Aaron

Mombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya, with a population of about 1.2 million.

A regional cultural and economic hub, Mombasa has a large port and an international airport, and is an important regional tourism centre. Located on the east coast of Kenya, in Mombasa County and the former Coast Province, Mombasa's bordering the Indian Ocean made it a historical trading centre, and it has been controlled by many countries because of its strategic location.

Administratively, Mombasa is the capital of, and is coincident with, Mombasa County. The governor is Hassan Ali Joho.